Performance issues

[CaptainJ]

Hello all,

Sorry if this has been posted somewhere else; I searched but couldn't find anything.

ZT2 runs atrociously bad on my system. The frame rate - even with everything set to low - renders the game almost impossible to play. There is no reason for this that I can tell, seeing as how I run games like FEAR and GR:AW completely maxed out, and they are far more system-intensive than ZT2.

My relevant specs are:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6400
2GB DDR2 RAM
Nvidia 7600 GT 256mb

All have the latest drivers and DirectX. I have re-installed countless times (and am going to have to again now, seeing as how I just got MM2 and, like all the other expansions, it tells me ZT2 is not installed, even though it's sitting right there in the default directory) and have all the updates, and frankly am out of solutions other than sub-standard programming, which I am very hesitant to say, seeing as how everyone at Blue Fang has been incredibly supportive and hands-on with this site.

As much as I hate to say it, I am on the verge of taking ZT2 and all the expansions back to the store, because it's simply not worth my effort. I love the game dearly, but enough is enough. The constant installation troubles, combined with in-game bugs and terrible performance makes me think I'm wasting my time.

If anyone here has any ideas on what could be wrong and what is causing the bad performance, please let me know. I would really hate to lose such a great game, but it's the way I'm heading right now. Any suggestions at all would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry if this post has a negative tone to it - I really don't mean it to sound that way, I'm just more than a little frustrated with it right now :original:

Thanks for your help (in advance).

[mikaboshi]

Hello CaptainJ and :welcomean to ZA! I hope you find your experience here a little more enjoyable than your current experience with ZT2.

Other relevant specs may include how much free hard drive space you have - I know my entire computer bogs down if I have less than a gb sitting around.

I don't really know what to tell you; you have enough RAM, a great video card, and like you said, it runs other games just fine. Reviews have stated that "I played Zoo Tycoon 2 on a system capable of bringing most games to their knees, and unbelievably my computer still managed to lag quite a bit." - its just a resource hog, and is most likely due to the programming.

My advice is not very good but perhaps if you try to make a disc image of the game and then mount it on a virtual drive, it may speed it up a bit because its being read right from your computer rather than from your disc drive.

[alloy61]

I just got MM2 and, like all the other expansions, it tells me ZT2 is not installed, even though it's sitting right there in the default directory)

I have heard some success with keeping the folder in your start menu in the same place when it initially installs (i.e. Start Menu--->Programs---->Microsoft Games---->Zoo Tycoon 2 etc.) as for some reason the installer checks there to see if the game is installed

As for your performance problems, I don't think I could help you, possibly a program in the background is interfering but seeing as you don't have problems with other games it doesn't seem likely.
I take it the discs themselves are in good condition?

[LadyZookeeperNY]

Welcome to ZA CaptainJ..do stick around and enjoy our wonderful site!

Inspite of having a good system to play the game on, Alloy61 is correct in that some of the background programs that run on your system may be using up resources that your ZT 2 might want to be utilizing. This may cause a lag in the game creating the poor performance. Use your Task Manager (or the three fingered salute known as cntl-alt-delete) to see what's going on in the background. Chances are that a few of those programs can be shut down while you're playing the game. Just remember to reboot your computer after you're done to get them running again. I have always played my ZT 1 game after a fresh reboot to free up the graphics card, then rebooted again when I was done before signing on to the Internet or whatever else I needed the computer for. The ZT games are notorious for being graphics hogs, and graphics cards that have a shared cache may sometimes bog down too.

Please let us know if any of our suggestions are helpful to you, or if you're able to give us any further techinical information that might be useful in assisting you with this problem. We'd hate to see you give up on the game, but we also don't you to be that frustrated with it too.

[CaptainJ]

Hello again,

Thanks so much for the replies! Unfortunately I have tried them and still no luck. Closing the background applications does speed up the loading (PC-Cillin is such a hog) but doesn't affect gameplay sadly. I have also tried using the virtual drive idea in the past, but it seems to cause more trouble with the copy protection on a lot of other games, so in the end is not worth it.

I managed to get MM2 installed - the trick about keeping the icons in the original place in the Start bar seems to work. At least that's one hurdle cleared!

I will keep playing around with it tonight and see if I have any luck. Thanks again for all your support; I'll be sure to post if I get it sorted!

[sheltiefan]

That's to bad. I'd think the game would run better for you. I have the exact same graphics card as you but only 1 GB RAM. I'm not sure about the processor but I know it's only a single core and about three years old on top of that. Strangely thought ZT2 runs excellent on my computer. How much space do you have available on your hard drive? I've found that if you have limited space there everything on your computer starts to lag.

[zoohio]

Try this:
Delete Cookies and Temporary Internet Files.
Then Run a DiskClean Up: Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup
Then Defragment your PC: Programs/Accesories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter

Also, check for Windows Updates and make sure you restart the PC afterwards.

My PC is three years old, and its Specs are much lower than yours and it runs very well, even on High Resolution.

Also, is your PC Celeron, Athlon, or Pentium?
Celeron does not run as well as the others.

Hope this helps. :original:

[topcatdk]

Are you trying to run a huge zoo with like 500 animals (I have and it lags seriously on my system, once I started reducing the game became much more enjoyable)

Background tasks are not very likely to be the problem on a core duo as ZT only use 1 and the second core is then free to do antivirus and other stuff...

[ladygreeneyes]

I have seen these issues myself, and my system is also better than the requirements, with plenty of hard drive space available.  I have tried shutting down background stuff and adjusting the graphics, and every other solution that has been offered, but nothing helps.  This happens with the new system we have, and also happened with the old one, which was also within the requirements listed for the game.  Nothing helps at all; the game still lags terrible, and freezes without warning no matter how often I save.  I have stopped playing due to this frustration, and have loaded the original ZT on the new system.  It works great!  If anyone does here of a patch for this issue, please let me know.  I feel like I spent a lot of money for nothing at this point.  

[Zoo Titan]

@ CaptainJ

There is a patch available to increase performence on mid-range to high-end computers available at http://zootycoon.com/Downloads/patches.htm do you have that installed?

I know that when I installed it, it made the game much better.